BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (May 31, 2015) —
Just two
weeks ago, Tim Jackson nearly beat the best
pros
and amateurs in his home state of
Tennessee.
Although he had to settle for a runner-up
finish in the
Tennessee
State Open, it
was clear to even that casual observer that
Jackson,
56, is playing some of his best golf.

Today at a challenging Country Club of
Birmingham
West Course — that hosted the 2013 U.S.
Mid-Amateur —
Jackson posted a tournament-low score of
three-under
68.

That number got the Germantown, Tenn.
resident to
two-under for the tournament, and was good
enough to
make up four strokes on 36-hole leader
Patrick
Christovich of New Orleans. Christovich, the
No. 4
ranked Mid-Amateur in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-
Amateur
Rankings, had missed a lightning fast
birdie
putt on the 18th hole in regulation, which
would have
given him the win outright.

"I had that same putt last year to
win," said Christovich in a phone interview.
"It's one of those putts that's so fast you just
have
to
breathe on it to get it started. Last year I
knocked it
15 feet by and made the comebacker. This
year, I
barely missed and still had five feet left."

The two players headed out to the 18th
hole, a
relatively short par-four where Jackson made
an
unlikely birdie from the trees to win it. Forced
to hit
a low punch shot after missing the fairway
right,
Jackson was able to not only hit a deft
approach shot
to the green, but sink a 15-foot putt for his
birdie
(from the low side of the hole). Christovich
had a
chance to extend the playoff, but again had a
downhill six-footer that he slid by the edge.

Joseph Deraney of Lexington, Ky.
grabbed
third place at one-under, while Craig Smith of
Nashville
was alone in fourth at even-par 213.

ABOUT THE BIRMINGHAM NATIONAL
INVITATIONAL

The Birmingham National Invitational, called
simply
the "National Invitational" by the club,
continues to attract a solid field of mid-am
players
and should see its status elevated in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-
Amateur
Rankings, the only rankings dedicated to
golfers
aged 25 and over.